Realms of Fantasy call for subscriptions ….

May 28, 2010

So, earlier last year Realms of Fantasy was going to close, much to my – and others – dismay. But then the magazine was sold, and things looked good.

But now, the publisher has sent out renewal letters basically saying that (paraphrasing), hey, even though advertising has increased and newstand sales are good, what really matters is the subscriber base. We really thought that there was a subscriber base out there due to the fan reaction when the magazine was going to close. But apparently there isn’t, subscription renewals have been insufficient to support the magazine, and if we don’t get our subscription base up, the magazine is gone.

Grrrr. I’m of two minds about this.

I really like the magazine, and genuinely hope it continues. I’ve received this letter, and my own subscription doesn’t expire for two more years, but apparently they want me to renew anyway, which is kind of annoying.

But shortly after it was sold, I overheard a conversation in which a certain author very knowledgeable in the business scoffed at the sale of the magazine to the new publisher, noting that said publisher would kill the magazine eventually like they had killed all their previous magazines.